First of all, please realize that most damage that occurs to Outdoor Whirlpools is caused by improper winterization, or during times where the outdoor whirlpool is not used frequently (either during the winter or during the summer). When it comes time to open up your outdoor whirlpool, this is when these problems will become evident. While it is strongly recommended to have a swim spa or whirlpool spa professional close up your whrilpool spa for the winter, many homeowners do successfully tackle the job of whirlpool spa opening themselves. It is much less risky!
Fill the whirlpool.
Take a deep breath and start to fill the whirlpool spa. Put a hose inside the tub and turn your water on. This is the time when you should be the most attentive to this whole process (especially if your whirlpool spa or any of the equipment are indoors and are in any area where a small flood could cause a problem !). As the tub starts to fill up – and the water gets up to various levels in the whirlpool spa, the jet piping will slowly start to fill with water and the water will start to reach each piece of equipment in your equipment pack. THIS IS WHERE YOU WILL MOST PROBABLY SEE A FEW SMALL LEAKS!
Keep an eye on everything as tub is filling. If you see any leak (or flood) anywhere, turn off the water until you have located and repaired the leak. The most common leak areas are around the pump and at all quick disconnect fittings by the whirlpool spa pack. These drips or leaks can usually be fixed by tightening the fittings better. Sometimes you may need a new gasket or o-ring to stop the leak. In any event, make sure all leaks and drips are FIXED before you continue to fill the tub.
Power up whirlpool spa.
Assuming that the filling procedure went well, you are now ready to power the tub up, and hopefully it will work ! Make sure the whirlpool spa pack area is dry and that you are not standing in any puddles of water when you first power up the tub. Make sure the whirlpool spa heater thermostat is turned ALL THE WAY DOWN, or to the OFF position before you turn on the tub. Go turn on the circuit breaker that controls the electric power to the tub. Go back to the whirlpool spa pack and check the GFCI to make sure it TESTS and RESETS. Not all whirlpool spa packs have a built in GFCI, but most of them do – and this is a very important safety device !!! You want to make sure that the GFCI and/or the main house CIRCUIT BREAKER that controls the electric to the whirlpool spa are functioning properly. If the GFCI and/or BREAKER works, proceed to the next step.
Enjoy !
